Art on Amiens - Official Opening

The 'Art on Amiens' Art Trail will officially open on Friday, 2 September 2011.

We will be hosting the opening here at 'Nest' and festivities will kick off from 6pm. Some of the wineries involved with the trail - Ravens Croft Wines, Robert Channon Wines and Summit Estate Wines - have all kindly donated wine for the event.

Our spring-time exhibition includes all 'adopted artists' from the trail as well as a few extras, so it is sure to be an amazing collection of works! I can't wait to see it all up and ready for opening night.

If you can't make opening night, try and pop out along Amiens Rd sometime during Spring to see a wonderful variety of fantastic art in some beautiful locations.

Reduction Cut Workshop - the results!

What an amazing weekend of printing we've had here at 'Nest'!

Guided by the very talented Eva Rasmussen, we delved into the world of Reduction Cut Printing. The two-day workshop covered everything from getting our design onto the plate, when and how to cut each colour, preparing the ink and transferring the inked-up plate onto the paper.

Adding each colour was always nerve-wracking, but SO interesting to see the various effects we created ... even if they were accidental at times!

Each student had such varying styles, that it was very interesting to see what everyone produced by the end of the weekend.

It was lovely to have the gallery full of such wonderful, creative people. The weather was also very kind to us, warming up nicely throughout the day! (even if we did have frosty toes in the morning).

Silk Painting and Dyeing Workshop

Saturday saw us play host to our first 'Silk Painting and Dyeing' Workshop!

Awakening to a frosty morning here at 'Nest', I was hoping our trusty wood heater would do the trick and heat up the gallery enough to reach to the workshop space! It did quite well ... and the ladies were so busy dyeing up a storm that the weather was of no importance!

The tutor, Sue Jurd, took the students through the process of mixing the dyes, melting the wax and showing them various techniques to create different effects on their silk. Each student finished up with four scarves, each demonstrating a different method of dyeing or painting silk.

Some of the results are in the images above.

The workshop was such a success, that we have already filled a second workshop to run in October. We may consider a third, so if you're interested, please email me at emma@nestgallery.com.au.

The Mosaic ... a progress report

I think I may have mentioned some time ago that I was in the process of mosaicing (is that a word??) the front of the old wine press out the front of the gallery.

Well ... while I would love to say I am finished, this is not the case ... but we are definitely getting there. When I say 'we', I mean my four-year old son and I. He is in charge of picking the pieces that he thinks fits best and I apply them to the wine press ... although our roles do change frequently, depending on his mood.

The weather hasn't been the best for finishing the mosaic, but as soon as it is, Sonny and I are back on the job to get the press done!

We now also have the added incentive of the 'Art on Amiens' Art Trail, opening September, to motivate us to get it finished in time!

Stay tuned for the finished product!

Reduction Cut Workshop - enrolments closing soon!

Our Silk Painting workshop is now full, and we are looking at holding a second one in September. If you're interested, please contact me on emma@nestgallery.com.au.

If lino printing is your thing, perhaps you would be interested in our Reduction Cut workshop. All details are below.

Reduction Cut Lino Printing
Tutor: Eva Rasmussen
When: 23 and 24 July 2011
Time: 9am – 4pm
Cost: $150 (plus $15 for cost of materials)
Registration closes Friday, 8 July 2011

A two-day workshop, where students will be taught to print a multi coloured print from one plate. This exciting way of cutting and printing requires some experience in lino printing.
Students will be guided through the steps of colour use to express form and highlights in the finished print.
Students should bring a prepared drawing, no bigger than A4, with a bold design and strong colour separations in 4-5 colours, preferable primary colours.
Examples of a step-by-step work will be available to view, together with some finished works.
Each student can purchase a pack with A4 vinyl cutting plate, paper to produce five prints, and step-by-step instruction printout. The cost of the pack is $15. Extra paper is available for purchase. Water soluble ink will be used in this workshop.

To download an enrolment form, please go to our website.

Silk Painting and Dyeing Workshop - Enrolments Closing Soon!

Spaces in our upcoming workshops are filling fast, which has been great to see! We still have a couple of spaces available in our Silk Painting and Dyeing Workshop on 9 July however.

All the details are below ... and if you're keen to enrol, please go to our website to download an enrolment form.

Silk Painting and Dyeing
Tutor: Sue Jurd
When: Saturday, 9 July 2011
Time: 9am – 4pm
Cost: $120
Registration closes, Friday 24 June 2011

Students will paint or dye four scarves during the day and will experiment with a number of techniques. Scarves will be completed and ready to take home by the end of the session.
Students will be working with fibre reactive dyes, some common household chemicals, hot wax and shellite.
The cost of the workshop includes all dyes, equipment, four scarves and tuition.

Thinking about visiting the Granite Belt?

With the cooler weather upon us, it is the ideal time to come and visit us here in the Granite Belt. Curl up by the fire and enjoy some of the finest wine Queensland has to offer.
The Granite Belt Wine Country website has all the information you will need to plan the perfect weekend getaway.
http://www.granitebeltwinecountry.com.au/

Or visit the blog to see what is happening right now on the Granite Belt!
http://granitebeltwinecountry.blogspot.com/

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Introduction to Lino Printing

ENROLMENTS CLOSE SOON!

Tutor: Eva Rasmussen
When: Saturday, 25 June 2011
Time: 10am – 4pm
Cost: $100 (plus $15 for cost of materials)
Registration closes, Friday 10 June 2011

In this workshop students will be taught to make a one colour print. They will be guided through the process of cutting, inking and hand printing the lino plate.
Examples of finished works will be available, to view and to gather ideas from. Students should bring a prepared drawing of a simple but strong design no bigger than A4 format.
Each student can purchase a pack with A4 size vinyl plate for cutting, paper to produce five prints and step-by-step instruction printout. The cost of the pack is $15.
This workshop is a useful step to the next workshop, Reduction Cut Lino Printing. Water soluble inks will be used in this workshop.

Email emma@nestgallery.com.au or visit http://www.nestgallery.com.au/workshops.html for more details!

Our Arts Grant!

We are very excited to announce that 'Nest' has been awarded an RADF Grant to develop an arts trail along Amiens Road ... aka 'Art on Amiens'. Our proposal was accepted and we are now in the process of developing the trail for September this year.

It is most exciting, and we must thank the Southern Downs Regional Council, the RADF program and Arts Queensland for promoting the arts in regional Queensland.

Stay tuned for further details! Or alternatively, if you would like to be kept up to date with all the latest information regarding the trail please email emma@nestgallery.com.au to be added to our mailing list.

Upcoming Workshop: Simple Weaving with Jenny Jackett

Our series of Winter Workshops is due to begin soon, with the first workshop being an Introduction to Weaving workshop, with award-winning weaver, Jenny Jackett.

Enrolments for this workshop close on Friday 27 May, so be sure to enrol shortly to guarantee your spot! Details are below.

Simple Weaving
Tutor: Jenny Jackett
When: Saturday, 11 June 2011
Time: 9am – 4pm
Cost: $100 (plus $15 for cost of materials)
Registration closes Friday, 27 May 2011

In this workshop, students will create a sampler by:
• dressing the loom
• weaving with yarns of different colours and textures
• learning and using different rug weave / tapestry weave techniques
• removing fabric from the loom
• learning about and using finishing processes
Participants will discover that by learning these basic skills they are able to follow their own creative interest in this or other forms of weaving. A selection of woven articles will be displayed and discussed by the Tutor.
Each student will purchase a pack containting a cardboard ‘loom’, warp yarn, yarn oddments and instruction handouts. Instructions for making a frame loom and shuttle will also be supplied for future reference. The cost of the pack is $15.

Winds of Change

Our Autumn/Winter exhibition, 'Winds of Change' officially opened yesterday. 'Winds of Change' is a contemporary collection of works by artists Maryke Miller, Marion Arent, Kim Hill, Jim Grasby and Ole Agerby.

This exhibition will be running until the end of August, so visitors will have plenty of time to come and see this quality exhibition.

The works above are (from top): Echo Reef by Marion Arent, Man O War (in detail) by Jim Grasby, Preening (in detail) by Kim Hill and Granite Country by Maryke Miller.

A Manifesto for Women in Business

I just read this manifesto on the Women In Business website and it totally resonated with me. We all have days when we wonder why we are in business for ourselves, but hopefully this helps to inspire anyone out there who is having one of those moments! Go forth and build that empire!

Life Drawing Classes

Life Drawing classes are starting at the Stanthorpe Regional Art Gallery. Go along to the relaxed class every Wednesday night 5.30pm-7.30pm. Easels and some materials supplied. Each session is $14 which goes towards the model.

Queensland Premier's Design Awards

Good design certainly inspires me to inspire others.

If you know of a fantastic Queensland designer out there worthy of such a wonderful award, please let them know about this amazing design award.

Entries close COB, Friday 29 April. For further information, visit the Arts Queensland website.

Twisted & Tangled 2011

Want a fun night out with the girls, while enjoying a night of local fashion and other amazing textile creations? Well 'Twisted & Tangled' may just be the event for you!

After the success of last year's event, 'Twisted & Tangled' is gearing up to be another wonderful night, showcasing regional textile artists.

This year's event will once again be held at Mason's Wines, Glen Aplin on Friday 1 April, 2011. Doors open at 6pm with the Fashion Parade starting at 7pm. The ticket price of $35 includes champagne on arrival and finger food throughout the evening.

Tickets are available at 'Pozzy's Patchwork', Shop 3 Davadi Place, Stanthorpe or call Jeannie on (07) 4683 7127.

Images above is from last year's event - featuring Jeannie Williams's "Tangles".

Meet 'Angelwing Jewellery' ...

Cathy McCarthy sees her jewellery as little pieces of wearable art, which bring together everyday observations of nature and her own emotions and memories. Since coming to live in Australia in 2009, her work has reflected her personal transition with a sense of inspiration and excitement stimulated by the new environment.

Working in Silver, Cathy focuses on shape, movement and texture to bring depth to her designs with lovingly worked detail. She feels preciousness comes not just from the choice of materials but through the way people value beauty, attach sentiment to an object and bring their own emotions to a piece.

Cathy likes to bring an element of light-hearted fun to her jewellery which reflects her enjoyment of making it.

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'Angelwing Jewellery' is now available at 'Nest'!

Nest's Weekend Art School

We are so excited to be able to announce the launch of our first series of Winter Art Workshops, starting in June 2011.

Following the success of our pilot workshop late last year, our first workshop is an Introduction to Weaving on Saturday, 11 June.

Leading the workshop is Jenny Jackett, a multi-award winning spinner, weaver and dyer. Ms Jackett will tutor students in various rug and tapestry weave techniques as well as using different finishing techniques.

The workshops on offer will enable participants to explore their creativity while enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of the Granite Belt.

The first series of workshops includes:

Introduction to Weaving

Introduction to Lino Printing

Silk Painting and Dyeing

Reduction Cut Lino Printing

Paper Making and Stab Binding

For more information regarding the workshops, please visit the workshop page of our website.

Feature Artist - Jim Grasby

Introducing one of the exhibition artists in our current show, 'Faces and Places' - Jim Grasby.

His artist statement really appealed me, and I thought it would be great to share.

"I could say I am an artisan, a craftsman, a tradesman, an engineer, a painter, a sculptor, a designer, a maker, a teacher, or an educator. All these are true and yet none describe my work!

As an artist, I am interested in making possible my ideas and thoughts through whatever medium I wish. The finished work may be a two-dimensional picture or a three-dimensional sculpture.

I may work with metal, wood, clay, stone or any other material, but the final outcome will be a personal statement.

I enjoy the creative process from initial thought to completed work and the majority of my work comes from a blank piece of paper and an idea to play with. I use recycled material as a means of expressing the idea and all my skills, to complete the work. The finished piece is what I term 'my artwork' and I leave it up to everyone to judge it in their own way."

Summer Exhibition - 'Faces and Places'

I have finally managed to get my camera back and running, and managed to take some snaps of our current Summer exhibition, 'Faces and Places'. The exhibition is just stunning - but unfortunately the recenting flooding in Queensland has effected the flow of traffic over the recent weeks. Therefore, we have decided to extend this exhibition through to the end of March.

If you are in the area, you should drop by for a look at all these wonderful works of art from some of our talented Granite Belt artists.

Featured above are works from Maerten Heeremans, Jane Donaldson and Ole Agerby.

Artist Profile - Jane Donaldson

Our current show, 'Faces and Places' is featuring some amazing work from local artists. The works of Jane Donaldson are certainly turning heads and getting people talking.

Here Jane talks about what influences her:

"As a self taught artist, the foremost influence in my work is my love of colour. I use a simplistic style to paint whimsical observations of human behaviour, relationships with the self and others and the place we call home. Most of my paintings draw inspiration from events or musings about my own life and become autobiographical and introspective tales enriched by my imagination and dreams".

To see more about Jane and her art, please visit her website.

Workshop Ideas

We are in the process of compiling a programme of workshops for the Winter months here at 'Nest' ... and we would love to hear from you!

What would you like to learn, improve on, make, sew, paint etc?? I know, I know, the possibilities are endless!

At present, we have tentatively booked in a paper making tutor, print-maker, felter, weaver, silk painter and soap maker .... any other suggestions?

I am going to try and make each workshop a one-day course, as this seems to please most students, and keeps costs down.

And of course, you will be treated to a scrumptious lunch!

Creative Goldwork Workshop

Creative Goldwork: Pattern in Gold from Celtic Artefacts
Beads, purls and pailettes will be stitched amongst wavy lines of Grecian cord to create the centre of a pattern in a panel of rich golden textures on a silk background. Areas of closely couched Japanese gold thread embellished with purlwork will complete a pattern inspired by metalwork of the Celtic people. The completed embroidery will be suitable for framing as a panel. Previous experience with embroidery is not necessary.

TUTOR: June Fiford
WHEN: 26-27 February 2011
TIME: 10am-4pm
WHERE: Nest Gallery, 1257 Amiens Road, Stanthorpe Qld 4380
COST: $150 (includes lunch and tea/coffee). Enrolment and payment is to be finalised by Monday 7 February.

For further details, or to enrol please contact Emma on (07) 4683 3197 or emma@nestgallery.com.au.

Numbers are limited, so be quick!